Pakistani minorities continue to live under clouds of fear, persecution: Reports

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan’s minority communities, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and Ahmadis, continue to live under clouds of fear and persecution by the majority community, according to Pakistan vernacular media.

Several members of minorities, including a Sri Lankan national, have been killed and attacked in various cities and towns of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for allegedly committing blasphemy, which in this country is commonly used to settle personal scores relating to business, financial and land issues.

Abduction, forcible conversion to Islam and marriage of Hindu girls, mostly minors to Muslims, continue unabated in various areas of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh without invoking any concern and attention of the administration, human rights organisations, mainstream media and social media platforms in Pakistan.

Amid the persecution of minorities, rights experts have said Pakistan’s legal system is in need of urgent reform to protect the safety and dignity of the minorities including the Ahmadi community.

Notably, the Ahmadi community in Pakistan lives as second-class citizens. The anti-Ahmadi Muslim sentiment is powerful in Pakistan. It is amongst one of the most persecuted minority communities in the country.

A member of rights groups expressed alarm and a strong sense of outrage at the continued exodus of religious minority communities in the country and said that the state has consistently failed to allay the concerns of these communities despite repeated reminders by civil society.

They have condemned the persecution of religious minorities in Sindh and Balochistan, saying this is a reflection of the state’s failure to save these citizens from violence and discrimination. (ANI)